Pope Francis left red-faced after Catholics in Georgia fail to show at mass

Ex-Soviet Georgia is overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian and less than 1 percent of the population is Catholic, according to government figures.
Still, organisers were hoping for a much bigger turnout than the some 3,000 people who came to the Mass at a stadium in the capital that has a capacity of 25,000.
It was one of the smallest crowds ever seen at an outdoor papal Mass on Francis' 16 foreign trips so far.
In another setback, a delegation representing the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, that the Vatican had expected to come to the worship service, did not show up.
Two... read more

Related news

Ex-Soviet Georgia is overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian and less than 1 percent of the population is Catholic, according to government figures.
Still, organisers were hoping for a much bigger turnout than the some 3,000 people who came to the Mass at a...

GEORGE Osborne was left red-faced today after a photo of his finger was mistaken - for something much ruder.
The Chancellor was on a publicity drive in the West Country on Monday, visiting businesses ahead of this year's election.
He was photographed...

Ukip's Suzanne Evans was left red-faced last night, when she entirely forgot about a pledge made in the party's manifesto - which she wrote.
She appeared to walk back the party's pledge to abolish the body responsible for hospital inspections in an...

Tesco has been left red-faced after a customer pointed out some inappropriate product placement in one of its stores.
Ollie Whittingham noticed a display of Durex condoms in the store in Townsend, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, directly beneath a sign...

Image copyright Getty Images Pope Francis has unveiled reforms intended to make it easier for Roman Catholics to get annulments and remarry within the Church.
The Church does not recognise divorce, teaching that marriage is forever.
In order to...

Theresa May was left humiliated after The Queen's Speech showcased a pared down version of the Tory manifesto today.
The red-faced Prime Minister was forced to bin swathes of of her plans for the next Parliament after surrendering the Tories’ Commons...